Would you bring your sick kids to Christmas Dinner?

[Brenda2000]

Ok, here's my story:

My SIL's family has had the stomach flu at their house. One kid was sick on Tuesday, and the other threw up in their car Christmas eve on the way to church.

So, the next day, they all show up for the big family Christmas dinner/ present exchange..

My problem with this is that there were people there who really didn't need to be exposed to the flu, such as the great-grandparents who are in their nineties, and two babies, one under a year old. Plus, there were a lot of other children there.

If it were my kid/kids that were sick, I wouldn't have gone, because I would have been worried that other people could catch it.

Naturally she said, her kid that got sick the night before was a lot better....and that there seemed to be a two-day waiting period before one kid had caught it from the other. (Like...that's going to put us at ease)

I told DH that I thought his sister was being inconsiderate...and he didn't really seem to care much about it.

Do you think I'm out of line...or do you think it was inconsiderate also?

[Juliannaluv]

I would ABSOLUTELY NOT bring my child to a family gathering if they are sick like that...Christmas or not. The presents can wait or a parent could have gone and picked them up for the child(ren). I think if it were my family we all would have stayed home and spent the time together.

My opinion is that you are not out of line at all!

[Brenda2000]

Originally Posted by Juliannaluv

I would ABSOLUTELY NOT bring my child to a family gathering if they are sick like that...Christmas or not. The presents can wait or a parent could have gone and picked them up for the child(ren). I think if it were my family we all would have stayed home and spent the time together.

My opinion is that you are not out of line at all!

The girls and I talked with each other (without DH) and said among ourselves, that we didn't want to go if they were going to be there....but when we called my MIL, she said she didn't know if they were coming or not, that it depended on how they were feeling. Naturally, they showed up.
I know DH would have really been upset with me if I told him we didn't want to go...and I think he would have insisted that our kids go WITH HIM.

I did tell him on the way there tho...that if she showed up with her sick kids, and anyone in our family caught it, I would NEVER do that again (go to a family event, with sick kids present), whether it was Christmas or not.
This happened one time before, a few years ago...with his other sister, at Christmas, who showed up with a recovering kid, and half the family caught it that time, including the great-grandparents.

It frustrates me...because I feel like DH doesn't agree with me.
Plus, the thing that gets me is that his parents came to visit a few days before, we went to church with them on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas Day with them, and now we're supposed to be going to the same SIL's home on Tuesday (28th)for another gift exchange that was withheld until another sister got into town.
So, it's not like we weren't going to see them over the holidays. (Plus, we see them all the time anyway).

The other thing that got me was that the kid who was sick the night before was fawning all over the baby....and SIL didn't say anything..like..don't get so close, get out of her face, ect.

If I hear of anyone else coming down with it, I'll really be steamed!

[crazytimes]

If I were her I wouldn't have even mentioned the kids had been sick earlier in the week :O

[bestmidwest]

I wouldn't expose anyone (with forethought) if my kids were sick, but my aunt wanted my oldest for an overnight and we would celebrate Christmas Eve with them the next night and bring him home. Turns out he had the stomach flu. She called me at 10 p.m. and I had to go get him and bring him home. If I had known he was sick, I wouldn't have let him go. As it was, I felt terrible.

We ended up canceling Christmas Eve with them and calling my in-laws to cancel them coming the day after Christmas.

My SIL has gotten all of us sick too many times by bringing my nephew around when she knew darned well he was sick. Kids don't "just" run fevers for no reason.

Brenda, I totally agree with you, especially around the babies and older folks!! And trust me, they will all get it...we all did.

[Shainie]

OMG we must have the same SIL. My Mother-In-Law has liver cancer - it's going on 5 years now. Obviously she can't afford even a simple cold, especially when she's going through chemo and her blood count is down.

But does that stop my SIL from bringing her kids over there when they're sick? Heck no. My MIL will call and go "So-and-so spent the night, they woke up and were throwing up". Or we'll be there too and one or another will be hacking up a storm.

Maybe it's because her kids are ALWAYS sick. I've just been prepared that her kids are going to be sick during family visits, since they are 95% of the time.

I don't bring my kids anywhere sick. We were supposed to go to a wedding on New Years Eve of last year when Shane came down with something that the doctor thought was Strep. We cancelled. Our sick kids are our responsibility, and we don't expect other people to have to get sick because of them.

[kells3]

My kids throw up a lot. They will get a bug that lasts 12 to 24 hours and then they are fine. So if they were throwing up one day and feeling fine the next day I would go.

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by kells3

My kids throw up a lot. They will get a bug that lasts 12 to 24 hours and then they are fine. So if they were throwing up one day and feeling fine the next day I would go.

I was thinking the same thing as I was reading this thread. How did you know it was the "FLU?"

But I guess better safe than sorry... I wouldn't take my sick kids to someone's home, and would definitely warn people if they were coming to my home that I have some sick kids.

[Mouse7088]

Originally Posted by kells3
My kids throw up a lot. They will get a bug that lasts 12 to 24 hours and then they are fine. So if they were throwing up one day and feeling fine the next day I would go.

Logan, Codey and I just went through this very same thing. We had all gone to Kenny's family dinner the Sunday before Christmas and three days later the three of us were having a hard time keeping anything down. Called my SIL and their house had it also. Later we found out that Kevy's (cousin) kids all had it, BUT they were NOT at this gathering...Kevy was. It seriously last about 24 hours and that was that. We all have a cold from he** and that I can deal with...it's the other stuff I get more concerned about. With this last episode...I have to say I would have probably gone to our family gathering if we all had a complete day where we felt better...it was just a bug of some sort and as horrible as it felt at the time, 24 hours isn't too much for any of us. I KNOW I would have kept an eye on baby loving and drinks, etc..no use in "pushing" it.

[Juliannaluv]

What I meant is that if any of MY family members were sick my whole family would stay home.

[Jaxxie]

I think Brenda what you should do is when your kids start vomiting...YOU go shopping and let hubby fend for the kids. My DH would have been not too happy is one of his Sis's had brought sick kids to the party. But then again did any of the kids get sick while at the party?
We have had family members get sick on holidays and we usually pack up dinners for them and someone delivers them food along with the gifts.

[Brenda2000]

[QUOTE=luvmetender]I was thinking the same thing as I was reading this thread. How did you know it was the "FLU?"

/QUOTE]

We knew it was the contagious type of stomach flu (diarrhea, vomiting) because:
It's been going around our area, my best friends family had it, three out of five of them came down with it, two of my daughter's friends family had it, some firemen my DH works with have had it, and I could go on and on about the people I know who have had it over the past 2-3 weeks.
Plus, one of my SIL's other kids had it first, and two days later, the other came down with it.
Anyway, so far so good...it seems as tho no other family members have become ill yet.

Good idea, Jaxxie....but oh yeah, If I did that, I think I'd pay for it later....DH is not real good about taking care of the kids (in my opinion, not his), or cleaning up!

[Brenda2000]

Originally Posted by Juliannaluv

What I meant is that if any of MY family members were sick my whole family would stay home.

Ahh..gotcha...